Range Resources Is Using a Disinformation Campaign Trying to Discredit A Champion Of The People, Trying Grab The Publics Trust

In the past month or so Range has gone after Rep. Jesse White for wanting an investigation into the workings of DEP reports on possible water contamination from Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing) in residents wells. The story broke after a DEP employee said that the DEP does not report all of the heavy metals and chemicals found in water tested from those wells. Many of which are used in the fracking process, both in the process and flow-back. It was also said, most DEP employees are not qualified to do that work, even though they did.

Testimony by a high-ranking Department of Environmental Protection employee revealed that the DEP Bureau of Laboratories reran parts of its residential water tests for fracking pollution and, in some cases, the numbers differed substantially.

This same state official also could not say which number — the higher or the lower — was reported to homeowners.

And testimony by another DEP employee revealed that the department requires no formal training for its water quality specialists and has no Marcellus shale-specific training.

With that and other pertinent information Rep. Jesse White brought to the forefront the agency was using Suit codes that where established by the DEP, in particular Suit Code 942.

Suit code 942 tells the technician what to leave out of the report which is going to the home owner. DEP has said, it is because the company didn’t pay for that information.

>Using the Sept. 26 deposition of the DEP Bureau of Laboratories technical director, Taru Upadhyay, in an Environmental Board hearing, White brought to light the DEP’s use of several suite codes, which only report back to residents a portion of the test’s findings.

In one specific case, the DEP tested for 24 contaminants, but only showed eight (Using Suit 942) of the 24 in the report given to the land owner.

In her deposition, Ms. Upadhyay said the department’s oil and gas division directed the lab to generate water test reports to homeowners that omitted the full menu of findings for heavy metals, including lithium, cobalt, chromium, boron and titanium, some of which are human carcinogens, as well as volatile organic compounds that are associated with hydraulic fracturing fluids.

Since then Range has begun a smear campaign against Mr. White.

Jesse posted on his face book page that he had gotten the news that his Grandmother had take a turn for the worse and he had decided to come back home to spend time with her, when he was ambushed by reporters to answer allegations which were put out by Range. The following is off of Jesse White’s FaceBook page.

My grandmother, who had been sick for some time now, took a turn for the worse earlier today and I decided to head home from Harrisburg to be with her and my family.

Unfortunately, my travel was substantially delayed because Matt Pitzarella from Range Resources manufactured another in a series of hateful smears against me to the media and I had to spend precious hours combating his pathological and baseless lies with a reporter he sent to ambush me.

My grandmother passed away a few minutes ago. I was still 50 miles away when she passed. I have no words right now. Enjoy your attack piece on me, Range- you certainly earned it today.

The following day(11/14/12) the Range hit piece showed up on the front page of the penned by Timothy Puko Tribune Review Front Page. Then today Trib Live runs a piece that looks like it was mostly written and handed to the writers by Range Resources. (You could say this is my opinion.) However, with a little research by Brad Bumsted and Timothy Puko they would have seen that the parts that accuse Mr. White of racial comment are many comments pieced together to look this way. The Range Spokes Person said that the comments were taken down off of Mr. White’s page. If they were, why is it I found them?

The major attacks came when and as the reporter puts it;

The Tribune-Review reported on emails that Range released, which show the breakdown of a cozy relationship between the lawmaker and company.

The above statement shows this article is not a news story but, an opinion piece and that Range is doing everything in their power to destroy those who go against them because of their, “Profit Before People” business practice. Also the authors failed to mention that the doctored emails from Range don’t mention that Mr. White was in Range’s favorite status until, he saw what they were doing to the people’s health, land, and, water and he set out to make it right. Then Range went ballistic when they realized he was not for sell as are many others who received hundreds of thousands from Range. The governor being one who received over a million dollars from the Gas industry alone.

As Dory Hippauf wrote in her piece; Range Resources – SQUIRREL!

Below is how Range conducts their PR affairs.

DENY Responsibility: How many times have we heard the standard excuse of “the water was like that before we drilled”?

DISTORT the Facts: Grab all spurious information and throw it against the wall like spaghetti, see what sticks and run with it whether it is relevant or not. The IPAA (Independent Petroleum Association of America) public relations campaign – Energy-in-Depth (EID) is very good at this.

DISTRACT the Public: This is done by changing the subject, (i.e. yelling Squirrel), attacking the messenger, and peeling off multiple strands of spaghetti from the wall to keep the public off balance.

DELAY Proceeding: Delay and drag out the issue until effected parties give up from exhaustion.

ABA

Ps. Last night Jesse White put out a statement on how he will handle the attack against him by Range Resources.He has A Right To Criticize Who Has A Heart To Help